AHEC EMPLOYEE LOSES LIFE

He worked for the Auraria campus for almost 20 years. Everyone Moreno worked with loved him and everyone is trying to continue working as normal, even though they lost someone close to them. He was a loved member of the community and will be sorely missed.

One of the other victims was Victor Vasquez. He was a father of two and had another on the way with his fiance. A GoFundMe page was started for the family in order to help pay for funeral costs and other expenses.

The third victim was Pamela Marques. She was a 52-year-old Adams City High School graduate, Class of 1983. She also attended Pueblo County High School.

The gunman was 47-year-old Scott Ostrem. His stepsister said he had had voices in his head telling him that the devil is after him because of a bad LSD trip that damaged his brain 29 years ago. He had thought that people everywhere were demons. He had gotten mental health counseling from his priest, but never sought out alternative professional assistance beyond this. His priest would help him pray the demons away. His stepsister defended him on social media and did an interview with the Denver Post saying, “‘I love my brother. I stand behind him. I’m not going to stop loving him. I love him unconditionally.’” She also said that, Ostrem was an outgoing guy who played football, water skied, and fished before taking the LSD.

According to the Denver Post, the police said, “Ostrem casually entered the Walmart at 9901 Grant St. on Nov.1 at at 6:10 p.m., pulled out a handgun, and began shooting. He allegedly fatally shot Pamela Marques, 52; Carlos Moreno, 66; and Victor Vasquez, 26.” He was then arrested the next morning.

Ostrem was driving a Mitsubishi Mirage and the police asked the public to help find him. He was later arrested when his car was spotted near an intersection near 72nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard. He was arrested without resistance.

On Nov. 6, “Ostrem was charged with two counts of murder for each of the three victims. In addition, he was charged with 30 counts of attempted murder, plus one additional charge of a crime of violence,” according to the Denver Post. If Ostrem gets convicted, he could face either the death penalty or life in prison.

Furthermore, Ostrem’s boss was completely taken by surprise by the shooting; his neighbors were not. One of his neighbors said, “He made me nervous because he always had a rifle in a case over his shoulder.” His boss said that he “He would say: ‘Hello. Good morning. See you later,’ and that was about it. He was a very good employee. We had no problems with him.”

Governor John Hickenlooper said on Nov. 2, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and everyone touched by this incident,” and “We thank the first responders whose actions restored calm and are helping the community recover.”